MEIJER ADDING TWO KODAK STICKER KIOSKS

JOEL ELSON

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Meijer Inc. here has added Kodak Image Magic Sticker Prints kiosks to two new Louisville, Ky., stores.

Sticker prints are running upwards of $500 in weekly sales at the 232,000-square-foot Meijer on 9905 Dixie Highway, Louisville, said April Labree, portrait studio manager. The kiosk was installed in March and promoted under a one-day $1 introductory price. Sales also have been positive at Meijer's other new Louisville location on Towne Center Road, according to a store-level source.

Meijer is positioning the kiosks near the portrait studio, as it has at its store in Milford, Ohio, which installed a kiosk earlier in March. The retailer now has three locations with kiosks.

Positioning the kiosk at the portrait department "is ideal because this is a very high-volume studio with a lot of sittings," said Labree. "With promotion, [sticker] volume can go even higher," she asserted.

According to John Zimmerman, Meijer's director of customer relations, the sticker kiosks enhance the one-stop shopping concept by adding an entertainment flare. "We want the shopping experience at Meijer's stores to be enjoyable, and our customers are showing us they like making photo stickers," he stated.

At the Milford store, sticker volume reached more than $200 weekly initially, before it leveled off to half that amount after the kiosk was moved from the checkout area to the front of the portrait studio, said Bill Scott, portrait studio manager.

"After the move, sticker volume dropped to between $50 and $80 a week," said Scott, adding "the first display area at the front-end checkouts was a better location with heavier traffic for driving sales."

According to Scott, the most productive display locations are at "high traffic areas like the front checkouts or foyer, a grocery end or greeting card department."

Stickers appeal to kids who are curious about the music and the colorful booth, said Scott, noting customer referrals and new sales are coming "from friends of friends who have purchased or seen the stickers."

Customers operate the computerized interactive photo booth by selecting assorted background art from borders and seasonal designs and other images. They can superimpose their faces on the postage-stamp-sized stickers. Meijer retails a sheet of 16 stickers for $4. The sticker kiosk provides retailers with margins in the 30% range, according to the supplier.